A recent
post
in MediaShift discusses the role of social media in
protests and revolutions - a definite topic of
discussion given today's headlines in Egypt and
elsewhere. The interesting take-away from the post is
that revolutions are not instigated by social media.
Instead, social media are tools that can "allow
revolutionary groups to lower the costs of
participation, organization, recruitment and
training." How does this apply to PR?

Using social
media as a PR tool allows companies to disseminate their
messages quickly and economically, but used incorrectly
these tools can come back to bite them. Media campaigns
that put 100 percent reliance on social media and
abandon traditional communication strategies can find
themselves under pressure when their tactics backfire -
or worse, produce no results.

Just like a revolutionary
movement, a strong PR campaign has to appeal to multiple
audiences, including those that do not use the Internet
on a daily basis. This prerequisite mandates that all
forms of corporate communications be employed in a
strategic campaign.

Just as "a leadership too
reliant on social media can also become isolated from
alternative political movements with which it may share
the common goal of regime change," so too may a
company that relies exclusively on social media find
itself excluded from conversations that it needs to be a
part of. As we have said many times before, social media
has become a key part of overall PR strategy, but it
can't be the sole strategy.